A successful company is one with a motivated, engaged workforce. What does this mean – and what is your strategy to achieve engagement at all levels of your organization?

Engagement is the positive attitude held by employees toward their company and its mission. They stay aware of business priorities and cooperate with colleagues to bolster performance, clearly seeing the big-picture benefits. They understand how their contribution makes a difference and in turn, how organizational success improves their personal and professional lives.

It Starts at the Top

Company leadership must walk the engagement walk and demonstrate their dedication to an engaged culture by living organizational values each and every day.

Offer employees meaningful involvement in the future of your business. You probably have employee task forces, safety committees, audits and the like. It’s a good start, but it’s not enough to simply offer participation … it has to be meaningful For example, if your teams are steamrolled by management with employees on board only as token members, this will do more harm than good.

With the right strategy and execution, you can turn your entire organization into a continuous improvement team. Giving employees true participation opportunities affords them a feeling of belonging. In the words of W. Edward Deming, “people support what they help create.” Let your teams and committees design themselves, within the limits of a predetermined strategic framework.

Organizations whose employees strongly believe, firmly belong and creatively contribute to improvement efforts have a competitive advantage that cannot be offset. Facilitate engagement by allowing team meetings on shift and providing the resources they need to succeed, from ample time and adequate meeting rooms to reasonable financial support and other resources. Recognize and celebrate successes and ensure that membership is special and valued.

The Value of Social Responsibility

A commitment to social responsibility can go a long way toward enhancing employee engagement. As an added benefit, it boosts your reputation as an employer who cares and can provide valuable networking opportunities.

Team up with other companies and nonprofits to do benefit your community. This allows “doing good” to cascade down, both within and outside your walls. Get workers involved in worthwhile causes with a good rationale for pursuing them.

It’s easier to believe in a project if it works. So be sure to communicate the wins. For instance, form “green teams” to root out waste and inefficiencies. Have them take it “outside” and clean up an area riverbed or neighborhood. Publicize the game-changing outcomes and if possible, connect the initiative to your own business. Take a bottom-up/top-down approach toward improving the performance of your product or service while making a positive community impact.

To further explore ways to boost engagement within your unique company culture and environment, consult with the workforce development experts at Select Group, Inc.. Contact us today to learn more about our analytics staffing services; we look forward to hearing from you!